Órfãs e desvalidas: a assistência da Santa Casa de Misericórdia do Maranhão e do Asilo de Santa Teresa às moças pobres no século XIX (1830-1890)

Abstract

Centered on the discussion on gender studies that gained greater space in the 20th century and represent a strong questioning of various ideas and concepts attributed to the female figure, the study on female help to helpless orphans by the Santa Casa de Misericórdia and Asilo de Santa Teresa presents itself as a great contribution to this topic. Both the assistance offered and the way women were seen, their relationship with marriage and their position in society were studied. The present study emphasizes the assistance that the Santa Casa de Misericórdia do Maranhão and the Asilo de Santa Teresa offered to orphaned and underprivileged young women in the 19th century. Such emphasis does not exist in Maranhão, with the exception of the monograph by Denilson Costa Pinheiro (2021), in which he analyzed the forms of charity given to the underprivileged at the Santa Casa de Misericórdia in Maranhão, using Maranhão periodicals as the main source. During the 19th century, when the object of this research is centered, the Santa Casa de Misericórdia do Maranhão faced financial crises that affected its charitable work, more specifically in the second half of this century. Therefore, this study addresses the reasons for the crisis and how Misericórdia continued with its assistance work, especially for orphaned and underprivileged young women, as well as the role of Asilo de Santa Teresa in caring for poor girls.